September 8, 2008

In my lifetime I've owned a few vehicles. My first car was a 1986 powder blue Ford Escort. It was as cool as it could have been being powder blue. The sunroof helped it have some cool points. The 4 speed on the floor was good too, though it caused the tires to wear out too often because I was always being cool, popping the clutch and squealing the tires. Man was I cool back then. I bought the Escort when I graduated high school with the help of my grandmother and father. It lasted all the way to 2000, when I drove it to the junkyard and got $25 cash.

Even though I owned that car for 10 years, I never really became emotionally attached. Some people do that. They become attached enough to give their vehicle a name. For example, one of the students in the college age group I worked with in Tennessee named his truck "The Shagnasty". It was his pride and joy. It was the quintessential redneck truck, complete with a confederate flag. That's not me.

About 5 years ago, I purchased a 1991 Ford F150 Supercab truck from some guys who went to my church. They had been given the truck as a band vehicle. They were looking for some cash to pay for some recording studio time, I was looking for a good second vehicle. It was a win, win situation.What I did not know was that the truck came with a name. As I continued to spend time with the guys from the band, I learned that one of them, Tim, grew up with the truck and had named it Mobius. He would refer to it as Mobius periodically, but I never did. However, as I spent time with the truck, putting in a new stereo, working on it periodically, and so on, I began to understand why she was named. She is a great truck. She has been a reliable truck--150,000 miles reliable. She has some quirks, like pushing the clutch through the floor to get her started, which makes her even more special. She's not pretty. She's scarred by rust, scrapes, a little battle wound here or there. But, that gives her character. I know, I'm a mess.

So, when the time came for license plates this past month, I splurged on her and got a personalized plate. It looks great on the truck, and gives her more personality, don't you think?

Interestingly, Mobius has been sick for awhile. The shifter on the transmission has been acting up. You have to go to fifth, then first when starting out the first time or two so you can get from second to third. Its slightly annoying, but it works. Also, the window in the driver's side doesn't go up. You have to be careful not to put it down all the way so you can grab a hold of it and help it back up. The latest happened yesterday. When I pulled into the church parking lot at 6:00am and parked, Mobius would not shut off. The key switch would turn, but wouldn't dis-engage the ingnition switch. Either the actuator or the switch itself is finally worn out. Not a good thing, in my opinion, not being able to shut off or start your truck. I ended up stalling it out and unhooked the battery cable to make sure it didn't kill my battery.

Needless to say, Mobius got an unwanted tow to the local repair shop this morning. Hopefully they will give her a little love and she'll live for a another day. Pray that she comes home better than before!

On a side note: To anyone who has borrowed Mobius over the last 5 years, I'll be taking donations for her repairs so she can continue to be a good Mobius for friends and family.